Biographical entry Ericsson, John (1801 - 1889)

Born
31 July 1801
Långbanshyttan, Värmland, Sweden
Died
8 March 1889
New York, New York, United States of America
Occupation
Inventor and Mechanical engineer

Summary

John Ericsson was a pioneering Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer.

He is enduringly known as the designer of the ironclad USS Monitor (1862) which served during the American Civil War and was highly influential in the construction of the successive generations of ironclads.

In the 1870s Ericsson devised the first torpedo to use two counter-rotating propellers mounted on one shaft. It was known as the Ericsson torpedo and was incorporated into all of Ericsson's subsequent ship designs.

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Details

Chronology

c. 1817
Career position - At age 14 Ericsson was working as surveyor
1820 - 1826
Career position - Second Lieutenant, then Lieutenant Jämtland Field Ranger Regiment
1826
Life event - Emigrated to England
1829
Career event - Constructed the locomotive Novelty with John Braithwaite
1839
Life event - Emigrated to New York, United States of America
1843
Career event - Launch of the USS Princeton
1860
Award - Honorary Doctorate, Lund University, Sweden
6 March 1862
Career event - Launch of Ericsson's ironclad USS Monitor launched
1873 - c. 1878
Career event - Designed and built 'John Ericsson's Controllable Torpedo'

Related entries

Related Vessels

Published resources

Books

  • Church, W. C., The Life of John Ericsson, vol. 2, Marston, Searle & Rivington Ltd., London, 1890, 148-166 & 167-181 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • 'Ericsson, John (1803-1889)', in Johnson, A and Malone, D (eds), Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 3, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1938, pp. 171-176. Details
  • 'Ericsson, J. (1803-1889)', in Johnson, A. And Malone, D. (eds), Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 3, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1958, pp. 171-176. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'The Ericsson Torpedo', The Engineer, vol. 35, 10 January 1873, p. 21. Details
  • 'Captain Ericsson's torpedo', Engineering, vol. 15, 10 January 1873, p. 26. Details
  • 'Ericsson's torpedo boat', Engineering, vol. 26, 27 September 1878, p. 254. Details
  • 'Capt. Ericsson's Submarine Torpedo System', American Machinist, vol. 4, no. 39, 24 September 1881, pp. 1-2. Details
  • 'Ericsson's Submarine Gun', The Engineer, vol. 59, 2 January 1885, p. 2. Details
  • 'The United States Torpedo Ship "Destroyer"', Engineering, vol. 39, 13 March 1885, p. 270. Details
  • 'The Destroyer', American Machinist, vol. 8, no. 10, 7 March 1885, p. 8. Details
  • 'Ericsson's Destroyer and Submarine Gun', The Engineer, vol. 61, 22 January 1886, p. 60. Details
  • Ericsson, Captain J, 'Movable torpedoes', Engineering, vol. 15, 7 February 1873, pp. 107-108. Details
  • Ericsson, J., 'A new system of submarine attack', Engineering, vol. 9, 15 April 1870, pp. 257-258. Details

Letters Patents

  • Newton, H. E., Guns and vessels for submarine warfare & c., 1880. Details

Sources used to compile this entry: 'Ericsson, John (1803-1889)', in Johnson, A and Malone, D (eds), Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 3, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1938, pp. 171-176; 'Ericsson, J. (1803-1889)', in Johnson, A. And Malone, D. (eds), Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 3, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1958, pp. 171-176.

Prepared by: Rebecca Rigby